K.Mandla's blog of Linux experiences

(Very) minor points on kernel compilation

More notes to myself: Updating any kernel while using the proprietary Nvidia driver requires me to install the kernel, reboot into it, then rebuild the driver. Which is a little bit of a hassle, really.

Most kernel updates seem to be in code branches that I have disabled, just for lack of hardware or no real need. I can tell because running make oldconfig against my old .config file usually gives me no options to correct. As an example, the jumps between 2.6.26.5, 26.6 and 26.7 left me no real changes.

So things like security updates aside, I can probably skip most minor kernel updates since it’s doing nothing for me except from using up time for each rebuild (plus a driver rebuild, on at least one machine). And that’s time I can be using to … ah, um … well, anyway, it’s time saved. 🙄 Another blessing of working with older hardware.